Overview

Situated in rural Kent, YHA Medway is opposite Capstone Farm Country Park. This traditional Oast house is also just 10 minutes’ drive from Chatham’s Historic Dockyard Trust Museum. The Youth Hostel offers both private rooms and dormitory accommodation and has lots of character - look out for exposed beams and beautiful brickwork.

Guests are welcome to relax in the ambient communal lounge and make use of the self-catering kitchen, we've got a garden full of colourful planters and picnic benches outside too. YHA Medway is well located accommodation for winter sports at Chatham ski centre, historic Rochester, Chatham Dockyard and the Kent Downs.

We've recently given YHA Medway a bit of love and attention and have spruced up the bathrooms, redecorated the bedrooms and made the communal areas in this cosy home-from-home warmer and even more inviting.

Hire the whole place

This hostel is occasionally made available for hire on an exclusive basis. This means that you can have the place to yourself and choose how many of your friends, family, club mates, etc., join you. We allocate availability for exclusive use in blocks, typically up to 90 days in the future. If you are looking for space to stay with us on a normal shared basis, and can’t see any availability three months or more into the future, then this hostel may be being held for Exclusive Hire. You can check availability for
Exclusive Hire on our dedicated website, or use our live chat service for more information.

Things to do

Tourist Attractions

Chatham Ski centre

0.2 miles

The longest artificial slope in the South East, try your hand at skiing, snowboarding and sno-tubing!

Activities

Walking & Rambling

The hostel is close to the lovely North Downs Way, a great walking route just waiting to be discovered. Just over the road is Capstone Country Park, a beautiful area with woodland, lakes and wildlife. This park has a variety of walks from one to 10km with plenty of secluded picnic spots.

Cycling

YHA Medway is in a great area for all cyclists. Capstone Country Park has plenty of cycling routes for all abilities. The North Downs Way offers cycle friendly bridleways and there are national cycle routes which run alongside the River Medway through scenic countryside.

Reviews

Food & Drink

Breakfast

A full English and continental breakfast buffet is available to get your day off to a great start! Breakfast is now available at 10% off - ONLY WHEN PRE-BOOKED. Simply add it to your basket at check out to save!

Lunch

We can provide a packed lunch including a freshly prepared sandwich, a delicious cake, cereal bar, a bottle of mineral water, a packet of crisps and a piece of fresh fruit. Eat in the hostel or take your packed lunch with you to enjoy during your day of exploring.

Supper Club

This hostel offers the YHA Supper Club menu. This is a set meal sold at a set price. Guests in the Youth Hostel will have the opportunity to all sit around the table together and share stories with their fellow travellers - this is the authentic hostelling experience! Supper Club is served at 7pm.

Drinks

Self-Catering Facilities

We've got plenty of equipment for you to get cooking at our hostel - so feel free to get creative. There are two ovens, a few hobs, a microwave, two kettles, two small fridges and a freezer, plus a full set of crockery, pots, pans and everything you'd need at home.

1. Choose Dates & Guests

Admissions Policy:
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult (aged 18 or over).
Children under 11 are welcome at YHA but can only stay in private or family rooms or in our camping and cabins products.
Children aged between 11 and 16 can stay in dorm rooms as long as they are accompanied by an adult of the same gender.

We are no longer taking bookings for customers wishing to arrive today. Please select alternative dates or location.

Availability Calendar

Can't find a bed on your preferred date? Try choosing a different room type from the selection box above. Alternatively please call us on 0800 0191 700
or +44 (0) 1629 592 700.
Members of YHA or Hostelling International are entitled to a discount of up to £3/night off the prices quoted above for bookings at YHA operated properties. Member discounts are redeemable at the checkout stage of your online booking. Family room prices are only available if your booking contains at least one adult and one child under 18.

Need to Know

Reception Times

08.00 - 10.00
17.00 - 22.00

Check-in

17.00 - 21.30

Check-out

08.00 - 10.00

Open Every Day?

From 1st March to 31st October YHA Medway is open during weekends and school holidays for families and individual travellers. From Monday - Thursday the hostel is open for group bookings. Beds and rooms may become available three months prior to the travelling date so please check the website for more information. From 1st November until 28th February YHA Medway is open for group bookings and YHA Exclusive Hire.

Hostel Closing Times

YHA Medway is closed between 10.00 and 17.00, and closes for the night at 22.00.

Towels and toiletries

Hand soap is provided next to all sinks. Towels are not supplied as standard but can be rented or purchased from reception. Bedding is supplied in all rooms.

Parking

Ample parking is provided outside the hostel and is easily accessible from the main road network.

Maps & Directions

Address

351 Capstone Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 3JE

How to get here

By car: Exit the M2 at J4 signposted A278 to Gillingham. Turn left at the first roundabout and follow signs to Capstone Country Park and the Ski Centre. Turn right at the next roundabout, follow Pear Tree Lane, straight on, at the fourth mini roundabout turn left, hostel is 500m on the left.

On foot: Leave the main entrance of Chatham station, take a right and follow the road down under a bridge and onto the high street. Carry on straight ahead to Chatham Waterfront bus station. The limited service from 113 Chatham to Wigmore between 9am and 5.30pm will take you to the Wagon at Hale bus stop. Follow the sign for Capstone Park then the hostel is a few metres further up the road from the park's main entrance. Taxi travel is strongly recommended due to the inconvenience from Chatham Station.

YHA Exclusive Hire

Make YHA Medway your home for a few days by booking the whole place for yourself! Visit our YHA Exclusive Hire website for more information. Available for group bookings from the autumn half term to the Easter holidays.

YHA School Trips

YHA Medway has great facilities for study trips with on site classrooms, home-cooked meals, a garden and a self-catering kitchen. With many cultural, historic and adventure attractions nearby, this is a great location for a variety of school trips.

Volunteering

We are very grateful for all of the help and support that our generous volunteers give to YHA. We are proud of our “Investors in Volunteering” accreditation and have a wide range of opportunities available across the country, all of which will provide great learning or social experiences and help us to create even more opportunities for young people.

Volunteering is a great way to meet people, visit new places, gain experiences and have fun. Full details of all of our various volunteering programmes can be found on the Volunteering website.

History

An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. They can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture. Many redundant oasts have been converted into houses or, in our case, into an affordable accommodation provider. Ideal for outdoor pursuits, we are just a few miles from the North Downs Way and Sustrans Cycling Route 1. The Chatham Ski and Snowboard Centre is only a five minute walk away. YHA Medway guests can also visit Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral and Charles Dickens’ former home, at Eastgate House. Historic Leeds Castle is just 12 miles away.

Meet the Team

Piotr Lyjak is the manager at YHA Medway has been with YHA for four years. He has an MSC in Tourism & Hospitality Management and has worked as YHA Oxford Duty 2012, YHA Wells Manager 2013 and Relief on many occasions.

Manager recommends: Chatham is home to the longest artificial Ski Slope in Kent & the South East - loads of fun for everyone from Skiing and Snowboarding to Tobogganing and Snow-Tubing! A great idea for school trips and family breaks.

Access Statement

At YHA Medway we strive to cater for everybody. Unfortunately none of our bedrooms meets modern standards of accessibility.

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